


The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

by txorakeriak



Category: Pirates of the Caribbean (Movies)
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-01-15
Updated: 2007-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:33:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27605648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/txorakeriak/pseuds/txorakeriak
Summary: Looks can be deceiving - but sometimes, there's a bright side.
Relationships: James Norrington/Jack Sparrow
Kudos: 3





	The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

He should not have trusted the idyllic silence of the place, should not have trusted the fact that he had not seen the little island before his ship had been in a range of only a sea mile, should not even have trusted the notion that he had to have been miles into uncharted waters. 

Not that those things would have mattered, had he not given in to temptation and jumped into the sparkling water, nude as he was born, and taken a swim. 

He had undressed quickly, left his clothes on the beach, and then there had been just him and the sea, once again, just as it was supposed to be. No paperwork, no insubordinate subordinates, no social duties, only blissful solitude, silence and his favourite element all around him, clean and blue and white where the rays of the hot sun almost seemed to touch the surface.

It had been most refreshing, no doubt about that, and it had truly lifted his spirits after having sailed for so long. 

However, people would say that looks had the annoying habit of being deceiving, and when he stepped out of the water and found that his clothes were gone, he chided himself for having been so careless, for having allowed one day of freedom making him forget everything he had ever learned, the many agonising hours he had spent to become the man he was.

Whereas he had to admit that he had not quite succeeded in keeping his usual, emotionless facial expression, he had been glad to notice that, at least, his wits had not abandoned him entirely, and he had managed to cover his privates with his hands before the situation could have become even more humiliating. 

And there he was now, in this most dreadful situation, facing the last person he had expected to be there, the last person he would actually have wished to be there - and this time, it was for his own sake more than the other man's. 

God, the gall of the man to keep up such an improper grin when facing the very man who had caught him twice and brought to the gallows once, only to see him regain his freedom by a series of most unfortunate events. It was unbelievable, annoying and, indeed, most dreadful, and while Sparrow was still looking at him, grinning at him like the mad fool he was, Norrington quietly bestowed the most horrendous expletives on Fate, who, once again, had no scruples about getting him into trouble - especially the kind of which he could not slash his way out with a sword. 

Eventually, Sparrow decided to speak, and Norrington winced despite himself before rolling his eyes about his own naivety to actually believe that Sparrow, for once in his life, could actually remain silent.

"Hello there, Commodore!" Was this actual joy on his face? Or did he have one of those plans that people only understand after they have already become an involuntary part of it?

Norrington chose not to dignify the pirate with an answer. He flashed him a sarcastic smirk instead. 

"If you wanna know," the pirate continued after a while, "I've taken your clothes hostage. They're fine, don't you worry, but they're mine until you choose to ransom them." 

He took a few steps towards the naked Commodore who, with a lot of self-restraint, actually managed not to flinch. Still, he would have punched him quite ungentlemanlike, had he not been using his hands for a different, more important purpose. As it was, he had to content himself by shooting the insufferable rogue his best glare as he strutted around him, positively _ogling_ him, for Heaven's sake! Never had Norrington felt more uncomfortable in his whole life. 

"Though," Sparrow said as he had finished his tour of inspection and arrived in front of Norrington again, "I'm wondering. I mean - I don't know how it is with you Navy people, of course, an' I don't want to assume anything, of course, but... well..."

Norrington raised a sarcastic eyebrow as the pirate kept fidgeting. 

"Well... I'd have put me hands on me face if I were you, to be honest."

Norrington huffed. "Oh, would you. Why am I not in the least surprised." It was a rhetorical question, of course, but the pirate had the annoying habit of never taking them as they were, and so he already braced himself for some tasteless bragging. 

Instead, Sparrow flashed him his most golden grin. "Thought so. Very interesting..."

"And pray tell, why is that?" Norrington's voice was cold and disdainful.

"Because me folks usually recognize me by me face..." 

This was when Norrington lost himself, his composure and his manners and launched himself at the pirate, prepared to beat the last breath of life out of him. And he certainly would have, had he not in the middle of all this been demonstrated that his embarrassment had not in fact reached its peak yet - which was mostly due to Sparrow never fighting fair, of course - and that there were other ways to solve the problem.

In the morning, Norrington got his clothes back.

Not that he actually wore them for the rest of his holiday.


End file.
